Massachusetts releases its full lawsuit against Purdue, the maker of OxyContin

The Massachusetts attorney general’s office on Thursday made public a full copy of its lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, which it accuses of igniting the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of its painkillers, including OxyContin.

The court filing details how the company considered expanding into addiction treatment, how much the Sackler family that controls Purdue and company executives were paid, and how the company was advised by McKinsey & Co. to improve its image in the face of concerns about addiction and overdoses.

STAT and ProPublica on Wednesday reported most of the still-secret contents of the suit, which were officially sealed until Thursday afternoon, at Purdue’s request.

The document was released after a group of media organizations, including STAT and the Boston Globe, filed a motion in a Massachusetts court asking for it to be made fully public. A state judge on Monday ruled that it should be released, and an appellate judge on Thursday denied Purdue’s request to halt its publication.

The lawsuit also names current and former Purdue executives and members of the Sackler family, which controls the privately held company, as defendants.